An adjudication decision under the BCIPA that is affected by jurisdictional error is void in its entirety and cannot be severed so as to preserve the unaffected portions. A court cannot decline to grant declaratory relief on the basis that the 'pay now, argue later' policy of the Act would be advanced by permitting the claimant to retain the unaffected portion of the adjudicated amount. Where a construction contract contains a specific latent conditions clause with its own dispute resolution mechanism (expert determination), that clause governs all aspects of the latent conditions dispute including the existence of the conditions, and the general dispute resolution clause does not apply to those matters.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 22 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 22 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.